European Southern Observatory, the wheel of the sky colored by dying stars, released images

[▲ “Carwheel Galaxy” taken by ESO’s New Technology Telescope (NTT) (Credit: ESO / Inserra et al.)]

This is a galaxy about 500 million light-years away in the direction of the “Sculptor” in the southern sky.“Cartwheel galaxy”am. Cartwheel galaxies, as the name implies,Ring structure that largely surrounds the central partHas an impressive appearance.

The ring structure with a diameter of about 150,000 light-yearsFormed by a small spiral galaxy colliding and passing from the frontIs believed to be.According to the European Southern Observatory (ESO), which published the image, weMillions of years after the collisionIt is believed that we are observing the situation.

Focusing on the lower left part of the ring structure colored by the brilliance of the blue stars, it is more than the other parts.Bright light spotYou can see that is reflected.It was discovered in November 2021Supernova “SN2021afdx”It is the light of. The image at the beginning was taken in December 2021, but when compared with the image of the galaxy taken in August 2014, the position of the supernova can be clearly seen.

[▲ ESO’s “Very Large Telescope (VLT)” is a side-by-side view of the wheel galaxy (left) taken in August 2014 and the galaxy taken in December 2021 (right). It can be seen that a supernova appears in the lower left part of the ring structure (Credit: ESO / Inserra et al., Amram et al.)]

According to ESO, this supernova is caused by a massive star“Type II supernova”was. Type II supernova is a phenomenon in which the outer layer of a star is thought to be blown away by the reaction of the collapse of the core of a massive star.“Core collapse type”or“Gravitational collapse type”Also known as a supernova.

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When a supernova occurs, it is generated by a fusion reaction inside the star.carbonoroxygenElements such as are released to the surroundings.The released elementsNew stars and planetsNot only can it be used as a material forlifeIt can also be used as a material to form. It can be said that all life on Earth, including humans, was born from stardust.

The image at the beginning is of ESO at La Silla Observatory in Chile.“New Technology Telescope”Taken by (NTT: New Technology Telescope, aperture 3.58m), it was released on March 7, 2022 as one of this week’s ESOs.

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